Picket at Sweetwater trustee Cartmill's home

Sweetwater teachers who are on the verge of a strike over health benefits, class sizes, and campus safety issues picketed board president Jim Cartmill’s house early January 18.

There are only 30 days left for the board to fill a seat vacated by Arlie Ricasa and as of Friday, January 17, no special meeting notice was posted.

Meanwhile, word has it that superintendent Ed Brand has gone to Hawaii for two weeks.

Community advocate Maty Adato expressed concern at the January 14 meeting that Brand zipped through 2013 without an evaluation.

At the recent meeting, Adato stated: “According to Brand’s contract, he should have been evaluated by the board in May; that was never completed. Then we had to wait for Mr. McCann to return to his board seat so Dr. Brand could get his third vote. [Trustee McCann suffered a traumatic car accident in July 2013]. To this day, [Brand’s evaluation] has not been on the agenda again. So, technically, you’re in violation of his contract and board policy 2140a.”

Board Policy 2140a states: “The Board of Trustees shall annually conduct a formal evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance in order to assess his/her effectiveness in leading the district toward established goals.”

Brand was awarded a contract in September 2012 that provided for a $252,000 annual salary, $750 a month for mileage, 28 paid vacation days, and health and welfare benefits until he is eligible to receive Medicare

With written notice and board approval, the superintendent may use unused, accrued vacation days to undertake outside, third-party professional consultant work and speaking engagements

If the board decides to terminate him before the two-year contract is up, Brand gets a buy-out of his remaining contract.

Administration BP 2140(a)

EVALUATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

The Board and Superintendent shall establish an appropriate schedule for the annual evaluation process….

Evaluation criteria shall be based on district goals and success indicators agreed upon by the Board and Superintendent prior to the evaluation. The evaluation shall provide commendations in areas of strength, provide recommendations for improving effectiveness, and serve as a basis for making decisions about salary increases and/or contract extension.

(cf. 2110 - Superintendent Responsibilities and Duties)

The Board and Superintendent shall annually consider what evaluation method(s) will best serve the district and agree on the specific written instrument to be used. Prior to the evaluation, the Superintendent shall be responsible for preparing and distributing to the Board for its review a report of progress toward district goals, the Superintendent’s self-appraisal of accomplishments and performance, and a review of action taken to address any Board recommendations from the previous evaluation.

The Board shall also review the Superintendent’s current contract and any relevant Board policies. Each Board member shall independently evaluate the Superintendent’s performance. The Board shall determine who will summarize and combine the individual evaluations to create a consensus document and how that consensus document will be formatted. The evaluation shall be a composite of individual Board members’ opinions, but there shall be only one final evaluation representing the Board’s collective judgment.

This final evaluation shall be provided to the Superintendent for his/her response. The Board shall meet in closed session with the Superintendent.